


Selkies

by ThatSeance



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bonding, Canon Compliant, Character Study, Comfort No Hurt, Drabble, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, POV Regulus Black, Pureblood Culture (Harry Potter), Regulus Black Deserves Better, Regulus Black Feels, Selkies, Short, Slytherin Common Room, The Great Lake | The Black Lake (Harry Potter), fanon has made me forget canon tbh, is there actually a window in the slytherin common room?, regulus black deserves a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:54:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26797675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatSeance/pseuds/ThatSeance
Summary: Recently sorted Regulus Black is having difficulty situating himself in Slytherin. He knows what's expected of him, and he can put on the role, but he can't get rid of this hollow pit in his chest. Maybe if he stares out of the window into the great lake, he'll find what he's been looking for....
Kudos: 15





	Selkies

**Author's Note:**

> i am but a simple man: soft regulus black and the great lake are all i really need. I'm sure this has been written before in thousands of ways with thousands of characters but it's short and sweet and i wanted to write it.
> 
> ALSO i know the creatures in the great lake are grindylows.......... lemme have my selkies just once.

The first time he steps into the common room, his eyes are immediately drawn to it, this swirling black mass held behind glass. It is undeniably the oddest part of the room, towering so high that it reaches up to the ceiling; he wouldn’t be surprised if the architecture was built around it, rather than the other way around. What lays behind the glass is more fascinating than the window itself; the murky green-and-black abyss that seemed to stretch out infinitely, absorbing any light that dares touch its surface. On particularly sunny days, light sometimes reaches downwards and lets its tentacles reveal bits and pieces of seaweed, or mysterious shapes that disappear as soon as they float through the bright patches. Some days, Regulus believes that this window into the great lake is the most magical part of the whole school, but he doesn’t dare voice that out loud. He doesn’t suppose it’s a very common idea.

That night, sitting alone in the common room after waking from another nightmare, Regulus drags one of the large plush chairs up against the cold surface of the window and sinks into it to stare out into the darkened depths. He tucks his knees up to his chest. The candlelight reflects his face back to him; high cheekbones, short, black hair, and piercingly grey eyes. He looks just as much like the heir of his family as he truly is. His eyes drift away from his reflection as his fears start to build in his head. He floats somewhere between homesickness and longing for something to break the customary path his life had taken.

A loud thud breaks him out of his thoughts, and his eyes go wide as he stares out through the window. Intermingled with his reflection is another face. His mouth drops open against his will and his legs kick out in a desperate attempt to move backward, away from the creature, but it only serves to shove him into the back of the chair. He whimpers, just slightly, as the creature presses a hand up against the glass. Even in the darkened waters, Regulus can see the sickly green tint of its skin, the scales running down its sides and leading into a tail that thrashes about in the water. Around its face floats tendrils, thin enough to mistake for hair, covered in tiny little suckers that don’t seem to have a purpose. Somewhere in the back of Regulus’s mind, a little voice tells him that he knows what these creatures are, but in his fear, he can’t bring the word to mind.

The creature’s mouth moves, rapidly, exposing small, pointy teeth, and Regulus blinks dumbly at the window. It swishes its tail more rapidly for a few seconds, backing up ever so slightly from the window, before moving its mouth again. Regulus’s mind clicks into place. He whispers, afraid of unseen peers, “I can’t hear you.”

As he expected, the creature continues to speak, eyebrow bone turning downwards as it realizes that it isn’t getting through to him. Regulus frantically glances around the room, trying to find a way to communicate with it, before he lifts his hand to his ear and shakes his head.

Suddenly, the creature stops moving, tilting its head to the side. The two stare at each other, wonder spawning in their eyes as they realize that they have understood each other, however awkwardly. Regulus feels as if time has slowed down around him, as the tight feeling in his chest subsides and he lifts the corners of his mouth at the creature. It’s hard to tell, but Regulus supposes the creature does this same. Alight with new courage, Regulus scoots forward to the edge of the chair and places his palm against the chilly glass. The silver ring around his thumb gently bangs against the window, but he doesn’t notice. His eyes are focused on the creature on the other side of the glass, who’s eyes drift back and forth for a moment between Regulus and his hand, before placing a clawed hand against Regulus’s palm, separated only by a few inches of glass and some heavily placed magic.

Regulus grins at the creature, boyish charm in full force, and the creature seems to grin back. They hold this pose for a few moments, filled with awe, before the creature turns it’s head to the side as if someone- or something, Regulus guesses- had called it. It turns back towards him and gently removes it’s hand from the window, looking as remorseful as Regulus believes is possible for such a creature. Melancholy stirs in his throat.

He waves, large and frantic, like a child saying ‘goodbye’ to an old friend before they move, as the creature drifts silently back into the blackened abyss until it is just him and his reflection in the glass once again. He smiles, crows feet in the corner of his eyes, at the sight. He gasps.

“A selkie,” He says suddenly to the room, grey eyes once again wide, “that’s what it was.”


End file.
